Search Results for: hmo
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Features
Sun, sea… and problem tenants
Letting agents – do your landlords’ tenants give you grief? Maybe they do, but probably not as much as these tricky customers...
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Latest property news
Zac Goldsmith targets ‘rogue agents’
Zac Goldsmith has pledged to tackle the mounting housing crisis in the Capital in order to curb soaring house prices and rental values, as well as clampdown on high letting fees. Figures released by Goldsmith’s opponent, Labour’s Sadiq Khan, show that the average letting fee in the Capital has surged by 48 per cent since the last London Mayoral Election in 2012, reflecting a sharp rise in rents. The Tory mayoral candidate said the problem has been compounded by letting agents asking for a deposit equivalent to six weeks of rent, or at least one month’s rent in advance. While accepting that tenancy deposits are a necessity to protect landlords, the Richmond Park MP questions whether the fees being charged by letting agents are justifiable. “The agency fees are still very high – on average across London I think it’s around £330 and I don’t think people get £330-worth from their agents – it’s almost like a scam,” he said. “There are a lot of new businesses emerging where apps are being developed which I think very soon will effectively render the agents redundant.” London’s PRS has grown significantly over recent years. A decade ago private renting was 17 per…
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Housing Market
View from the top
Each month we visit three agents across the country to discover what is happening in their businesses and local markets. This month we visit West Sussex, Salford and South East London.
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Latest property news
Housing ‘no place for dirty money’, says NAEA
The NAEA has joined forces with the Transparency International to oppose money-laundering in the estate agency sector. The NAEA and the anti-corruption body want to see four major changes introduced to the sales and purchase process in a bid to combat the problem. This includes ensuring that all foreign companies are transparent over their ultimate beneficial ownership of property titles in the UK, anti-money laundering checks are carried out by estate agents on the purchaser, as well as the seller of high-value property, make sure that agents adhere to anti-money laundering regulations, and that meaningful punishment and sanctions are imposed on agents who break the rules and support criminal money laundering. Following on from the Channel 4 ‘From Russia with Cash’ documentary in the summer, the NAEA’s Mark Hayward said that there is still ‘not absolute clarity’ in relation to anti-money laundering among those in the property sector, despite the very clear legislation in place and regular training and updates from within the industry. “It is now time to step up the level of scrutiny that the sector comes under to ensure that a small minority of agents do not support criminal activity and those that do are appropriately sanctioned,”…
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Features
Student lets can be a minefield, tread carefully
All letting agents will want to ensure that, when instructed by a landlord, they comply with the applicable legal requirements and the obligations set out in the TPO Code of Practice. However there are particular issues that are unique to student lets. It is important, when instructed by a landlord who wishes to let a property to students, to establish if a House of Multiple Occupation (HMO) will be created. www.gov.uk defines a HMO as follows: A property is a House in Multiple Occupation (HMO) if both of the following apply: at least 3 tenants live there, forming more than 1 household each tenant shares toilet, bathroom or kitchen facilities with other tenants The property is a large HMO if all of the following apply: it is at least three storeys high at least five tenants live there, forming more than one household each tenant shares toilet, bathroom or kitchen facilities with other tenants. A household is either a single person or members of the same family who live together. A family includes people who are: married or living together – including people in same-sex relationships relatives or half-relatives, e.g. grandparents, aunts, uncles, siblings step-parents and step-children. Three or more…
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Adam Walker
Why we need better regulation in lettings
For 35 years I have viewed the burden of increasing regulation from the agent’s perspective. I’ve just been forced to look at it from the perspective of the tenant, says Adam Walker.
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Regional Reports
Edinburgh, Swansea and Milton Keynes
Swansea The rental market in and around Swansea and Gower is diverse, which may surprise people from outside the area. This already vibrant market is set to grow considerably with the construction of the brand new Swansea Bay Campus, coupled with the announcement that planning consent has been granted to build a £1billion tidal lagoon in Swansea Bay, both of which will see an influx of professionals and student tenants. These two projects alone are already changing the demographic of the Swansea rental market, with former residential areas slowly changing into more HMO-led areas and vice versa. Some traditional student areas have already seen a shift over to the professional market and none more so than the Uplands area of Swansea. The demand from professionals in this area has increased significantly over the last three years due to a cluster of wine bars and restaurants springing up in a condensed area, which is also conveniently close to the city centre and two major employers in the area; Singleton Hospital and Swansea University. A number of landlords have tapped into this tenant demand and converted large three storey buildings into, for example, three executive apartments with commercial premises on the ground…
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Resources
Training for staff development
If you want to build up value in your business, invest in your staff, says Andrea Kirkby.
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Regulation & Law
Strictly come letting
Finders Keepers’ Chairman Frank Webster comments on Government proposals for mandatory licensing for private landlords.
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Marketing
Zoopla returns to growth
Zoopla ended last week as the one of the highest risers on the FTSE 350, as it returned to growth, the portal announced last week. According to its latest trading update, the property website has attracted a net rise of 213 branches in the four months to 31st July. The news triggered a ratings upgrade for Zoopla from ‘sell’ to ‘buy’, with Broker Panmure Gordon suggesting that shares in the portal look undervalued. Zooplalost a significant number of agency subscribers due largely to the launch of OnTheMarket (OTM) earlier this year and its restrictive ‘only one other’ portal rule. However, the group said that it had won back 100 agents in recent months – many from OTM – with market churn also nearing historic levels, according to Zoopla. The group also announced that the volume of people visiting its website remained flat at 45.6 million, which is significantly below Righmove, but towers above OTM’s 5.2 million visitors. Panmure Gordon analyst Jonathan Helliwell told the press that “near-term, OTM’s growth appears to have stalled.” He added, “Zoopla’s inventory and traffic are holding up pretty well, and the housing market looks to be picking up. We think the stock could continue to…
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